We made it 19 months

Emma just hit 19 months old the other day, and we had made it that long without a fever or respiratory illness.  We've paid our dues with those first three months in the hospital, but with everything we've had going on, it's been so nice to not have to deal with fevers, infections, viruses, etc.

Until now.

Emma had a bladder infection a few weeks ago, which we treated with antibiotics.  It turns out she has another infection.  I'm hoping it's the same infection that we just didn't get rid of previously because we....ok, never mind, too much boring detail.  It would really not be good for this to be another separate one that cropped up immediately after we got the first one taken care of because that means her bladder isn't emptying.

Emma has never been cranky or had a fever with a bladder infection.  When we found out about this one on Tuesday, Emma's Shriner's nurse, Jean, said to let her know if Emma started to get sick and feverish; otherwise, she'd wait to get an antibiotic on Thursday once the bacteria had cultured and she knew what to get her.  We all said, oh, well, she won't get sick.  She just doesn't run a fever with bladder infections.

Yesterday my mom called me at work to tell me that Emma had a slight fever.  Jean ordered an antibiotic immediately.  Emma ended up with a pretty consistent fever of about 100.5.  She slept from 4pm Wed. night to 6am this morning, was awake for 30 minutes, went back to sleep for another hour and a half.  She hasn't been able to eat anything except her bottle (she throws up anything else).  Her formula is so thick that it sticks to the sides of the bottle, so we can't give her the antibiotic in the bottle or she may not be get the full dose...that means forcing her to eat some yogurt with the antibiotic in it and hoping she doesn't throw it back up again.  And giving her Tylenol for fever makes her gag and throw up.

You see, any of the fever/bladder infection issues would be alarming for any parent.  But Emma can't even get the medicine down.  And then we have to worry that her throat will start closing up again.  We don't really know what triggered her throat to start closing up in May/June of 2010.  Some doctors have told us it could have been a virus.  And we've watched her struggle to breathe and turn blue gasping for air in the last 24 hours.  Are we about to go through that again?  This is the question that was turning over and over and over in my mind.

Then this afternoon - breakthrough!  After waking up from a two-hour afternoon nap that was full of choking and turning blue, Emma suddenly felt like a new baby.  Temperature: 95.3.  Aunt Eva didn't even know she had been sick.  Emma comes home, temperature: 100.4.  She got all cranky, whiny, and sleepy again.  She is now sleeping in her crib with a lower temp: 99.3.  She's still not interested in eating anything, but we did manage to get that last dose of her antibiotic in her.  Praying for a good night and an even better day tomorrow...